Details Make the World Real
“I bought my first collection from that little bookstore, on their recommendation, and fell in love with the writer M.F.K. Fisher, whose...
A Small, Real World
Many years ago I wrote a long story using an old plot, a stranger comes to town—in this case, three strangers who arrive at different...
Memory, Family & Memoir
Several years ago I started writing a memoir about my time as a member of a Catholic lay institute run by a priest who abused the...
Giving Back
Before I came to Portland, I wrote without contact with fellow writers. Some writers work that way their whole lives. It didn't work for...
If I Could Talk to the Pope
Yesterday Pope Francis met with six victims of sexual abuse by priests, saying a private mass for them and meeting with them...
Unstuck
Some writers say there is no such thing as writer's block, that you sit with a blank screen or a blank piece of paper until you put words...
Playing with point of view
“Playing with point of view is the most instructive thing a writer can do.” Stevan Allred, co-teacher with Joanna Rose at The Pinewood...
Favorite Books
Ten years ago, I made a list of my top five favorite books. They are all books I've read more than once, a luxury I don't allow myself...